


Inside the Iceberg

by Light_Thistle



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: AKA Lena needs a hug, Anti Supercorp I guess, Around her neck, Canon characterization of Lena Luthor, Gen, Kara Danvers Has Had Enough of Her Bullshit, With chains
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:28:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21557041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Light_Thistle/pseuds/Light_Thistle
Summary: Kara's not alone inside the iceberg.And every visit has something to tell her.
Relationships: Astra & Kara Danvers, Danvers sisters - Relationship, Kara Danvers & Cat Grant, Kara Danvers & Lena Luthor, Kara Danvers & Lucy Lane, Kara Danvers & Maggie Sawyer, Kara Danvers & Streaky, Kara Danvers & William Dey, Kara Danvers & Zor-El, Samantha "Sam" Arias & Kara Danvers
Comments: 16
Kudos: 96





	Inside the Iceberg

**Author's Note:**

> *Looking anxiusly at The Women of the Thousand Faces* I didn't forget about you, I'm just trying to do you right

It was of public and general knowledge that to kill a Kryptonian, the most effective method was the Kryptonite. If the enemy was skilled enough, they could also try to weaken them with a red sun light. Kara had developed a slight resistance to Kryptonite over the years. She could still be mortally poisoned with her, but it would take much longer to kill her. That was no problem. She could resist the pain. She also knew what to do if she was weakened with red sun. Alex had trained her to fight without super powers, using the strength of her enemies against her _. 'I love this fighting style'_ , her sister had said one afternoon at the old DEO headquarters, the sixth time they trained together. _'It was invented by Egyptian Amazons two thousand years ago. The ones that haven't super strength. They're still around so it must work.'_

Alex had made sure she could resist Kryptonite and the loss of her powers.

But what they had never prepared her for was the lack of food.

A human could survive a month without eating and three days without drinking. Thanks to Kara's accelerated metabolism, she calculated that she only had ten hours left before she starved.

* * *

The third panic attack inside the Iceberg was the hardest. Because without knowing how, instead of simply crying and hyperventilating as in the previous two, Kara had ended up screaming until her throat could no longer emit sound and her scalp ached from the force with which she was pulling her hair out. Her hands desperately searched for anything to strike, impacting mainly against the Kryptonian crystal. She needed that the pain she was feeling was not just psychological. She needed it to be real. Physical. She deserved it.

When her mind could no longer withstand the despair, Kara fell on the cold floor, the deafening noise of her breathing shattering her eardrums and her eyes, heavy from so much crying, fixing her gaze on the bright blue ceiling of the Fortress.

_You did this. You did this. You did this._

"It's my fault," she whispered closing her eyes. "Sorry. I failed."

"Are you sure?"

Kara was startled to hear a voice by her side, quickly turning her head to find a brown-haired woman dressed in the uniform of the military guild, the symbol of the House of Ze on her chest. Kara sat at full speed, ignoring the pain on her skin caused by the Kryptonite. "Astra?"

"I think you should reconsider what you just said, Little One," said her aunt without moving from where she was sitting.

"You're not here," whispered Kara shaking her head. "You can't be here. You're dead."

"I'm dead, of course. But that doesn't mean I'm not here," said her aunt crossing her arms. "Don't be offended, Little One, but you look like you need help. A lot of it."

"I'm crazy."

"You should have gone to talk to a human mind healer as your former boss suggested, but you're not crazy, Karanizu."

"I'm talking with my dead aunt of course I'm crazy!"

"You are talking to yourself." Astra smiled slightly and leaned forward. "Aren't you happy to see me?"

Kara pursed her lips and slipped a little farther from the ghost, wondering if she would die of a heart attack before starving to death.

"I know I broke your heart," said Astra looking at her with a tired expression. "I died before I could fix it. I'm sorry."

"Well, what a surprise, it seems that we are more alike than what I thought," replied Kara, frowning. "Look what I did to Lena. I don't deserve the chance to fix it. I don't even deserve to get out of here."

"Do you think I would be here if that were true?"

"You're not here." She responded firmly. "I just wish you were. The Kryptonite must be affecting my sensory cortex. You will disappear at any moment."

"Very well, alright, you're sure I'm not here," said the hallucination with Astra's face. "You're probably right. After all, you know that I was too proud to ever set foot on something created by Jor-El. That arrogant, pusillanimous man would had never let me forget it. But if I'm not your aunt, nor her ghost, that it just means that I am your inner voice." Astra moved a little further forward. "That I am you, telling yourself that this is not your fault and that you're going to get out of here."

Kara looked at her with dead eyes. "I don't deserve to get out of here."

Astra shook her head. "Accepting the truth is difficult, Little One. Blaming yourself is easier than admitting that there are things you can't control." She leaned back. "I can be patient... I'm not the only person you have to talk to, after all."

"What do you mean?" but Astra refused to answer Kara's question, and the blonde simply stopped insisting, calmly waiting for the hallucination to disappear.

She did not.

* * *

Five minutes later, Kara began to feel the itching in her throat, wanting a bowl of hot soup that Eliza used to make when the weather was cold. Alex used to hate that soup, but Kara loved its smell and taste.

"Soon you will begin to be hungry," said Astra opening her mouth for the first time in minutes of silence. "But remember that you can overcome it."

"You're still here?" replied Kara with her eyes closed. "Aunt Astra, please go. Leave me alone."

But it was a male voice that answered. "Well, those are not ways to talk to your aunt, Karanizu."

Kara opened her eyes immediately, her heart skipping a beat when her gaze met another of the same color, but on a male face. "Father?"

Zor-El smiled slightly and nodded.

"No," whispered Kara sobbing, feeling fresh tears roll down her cheeks. "No more. I can't anymore. Please."

"My daughter, it's fine. Please don't suffer. We are here to help you."

"Help me?!" yelled Kara. "The last time I saw you you put me in a pod and sent me to the damn Phantom Zone-!"

"Kara-"

"-already having plans to save Argo!" Her blond hair shook uncontrollably, making her feel exasperated to keep it in place. "You didn't have to send me away. Argo survived."

"Please-"

"And they didn't come for me!" Kara rushed forward, approaching the hallucination as much as possible without risking to make it disappearance. "Nobody came for me! Every Argoan knew we had been sent to Earth but nobody came for us. You knew there was hope and you sent me away anyway!"

"I didn't know if I could save the city. I had to make sure you survived, Kara."

"I didn't want to survive, I wanted to be with you!" she said trying to force her lungs to get enough oxygen. "I promised I'd be strong for Kal, but I wanted to stay with my father and my mother." Kara wiped her tears. "And everything you and mother did? Use me to send Astra to Fort Rozz? Medusa? It's like I've never really known you."

"In other words, brother-in-law, you weren't as smart as you thought," said Astra beside him.

Zor-El glanced at her, but chose to ignore her. "I made a lot of mistakes," he said softly. "I would like to say that the council forced me to create the Medusa virus, but it would be a lie. I made it for myself. I made the decision, because I was afraid," he admitted looking down. "I was afraid of the Daxamites and Coluans, of not being able to protect my family. I was terrified of not being able to protect you." Her father looked at her with sad eyes. "Kara, everything I've done, I did it because I wanted to protect you."

"Don't use me as an excuse."

"I don't. When you become a father things change, Karanizu. You are able to do anything to protect your children. Sometimes things that are not right... Sometimes even things that can hurt them." Zor-El extended his hand, bringing it close to her cheek, but without touching it. "I'm sorry," he said with tears shining in his eyes. "Do you think you will forgive me someday?"

Kara sobbed, shivering in place. "I don’t know."

* * *

"Little One," Astra said out loud. Kara opened her eyes with a small start, unable to believe she had fallen asleep. "There's someone who wants to talk with you."

"When is this nightmare going to end?" said Kara rubbing her face and ignoring the empty pain in her stomach. The Kryptonite had also already started to affect her muscles. "It's not enough with physical pain, I guess I deserve psychological torture too."

"You'll like to talk to this one."

"I hope so," a voice answered to her right, and Kara looked around to find Lucy's smiling face. "Hi Kara."

"Lucy?"

She nodded.

"I- What- What are you doing here?"

"It's you who wants to see me. Why do you think I'm here?"

Kara let out a small sarcastic laugh. "Because I'm losing my mind and dying, and I deserve it."

"You know that's not true," replied Lucy putting her hands on her hips, as if she were explaining something ridiculously obvious.

"It is."

"If you really believed that, you wouldn't want to see me."

"Lucy, don't take it bad, but I'm not quite sure I want to see you. I don't think I want to see anyone. People just show up."

"Oh, c'mon Kara. You're smarter than that. And you know exactly why you want to see me, besides the fact that you miss me."

"I wish you hadn't moved."

"And I wish I could have stayed," said Lucy sadly. "Do you remember when I told you about my family?"

Kara nodded, hugging her legs.

"You know my father is not a good man."

Astra snorted sarcastically. "Everyone knows that your father is a scoundrel without honor."

"Please don't interrupt," said Lucy curtly. "You know my father and I have never got along. You know, because I told you. He has always made me feel as if I didn't matter. As if I could never be as good as Lois."

"That's not true," said Kara vehemently, resisting the urge to take her hand.

Lucy looked her straight in the eye. "And yet, when you told me you were Supergirl I didn't kidnap, tortured or lied to anyone."

* * *

Not long after Lucy disappeared, Kara realized that Astra was no longer on the other side of the wall of her icy cell, watching everything in silence. Kara also realized that she did not have enough strength to get up and look around. Hunger was being too much for her body. But at least the pain was fading. The only explanation she could think of was that the Kryptonite had damaged her nerve endings too much. "Please, let the next hallucination be a potsticker."

"No mercy for sinners."

Kara clenched her jaw as soon as she recognized the voice. "Why you?", said she in frustration. "Why the hell would I want to see you?"

Reign took a step forward, moving away from Pestilence and Purity. With a mocking smile she reached down, so Kara could look her in the eye. "Because I'm the only other person who knows."

Kara refused to answer and give that monster what she wanted.

"I know what she did to Samantha," said Reign ignoring Kara's hostility. "Poor little Sam, weeks locked in her lab."

"Lena saved Sam."

"Lena experimented with her. How do you think she knows so much about what Kryptonite does to a Kryptonian? Because her brother had good ideas, but in the end, who did all the research work was Lena."

"Lena is good."

"Like syphilis."

"She's just hurt. My mistake has caused her to make bad decisions. But she's not like the rest of the Luthors. She said she didn't want to hurt anyone. She can still-"

"Wake me up!"

"What?"

"Wake me up inside!" exclaimed Pestilence.

Purity stepped forward and spread her arms singing. "I can't wake up!"

"Wake me up inside!"

"Save me!"

Reign stepped back and depressively exclaimed. "Call my name and save me from the dark!"

"What the hell is this?"

"You hate that song." Kara didn't know how she had not seen Astra before that. She was close, almost so much that she could see the freckles under her blue eyes. "Why do you hate it?"

"Because it's about... about a toxic relationship."

"You know exactly what we are trying to tell you, Little One."

"I won't give up on Lena!" shouted Kara furiously. "She's my friend! She's just hurt! She's good! This is my fault!"

When she finished screaming, there was no one else inside the Iceberg with her.

* * *

The next time Kara knew she wasn't alone, it was two minutes after she realized that she could not feel the left side of her face, and that the noise in her head was so loud that she was having trouble hearing her own breath, or even the beat of her own heart.

The shadow approached on her left, sliding in a silence so absolute that Kara doubted it was there at all. Perhaps her mind was no longer strong enough to create another full hallucination. But she realized that she was wrong when a voice rough as sandpaper whispered in her ear.

"So you fought three superpowered Spice Girls?"

Kara turned her neck with effort. "Kate?"

"That must have been amazing," Batwoman murmured in a sweeter voice. "I'm sorry you had to fight your own species so many times."

"It's okay. Actually, thanks to that I knew about Argo and my mother," replied Kara with a smile. "I think she spent so much time believing I was dead, that now that she knows I'm alive, she doesn't know what to do with me. So never calls me nor is there when I try to contact her."

"Sorry, Supergirl."

"Why am I seeing you?"

"Maybe you just want to talk to a friend?"

"We're not friends yet, actually. I just met you."

Kate smirked. "But would you like to be my friend?"

Kara felt the ends of her corners rising in a small smile. "I would like it very much," said she weakly. "It felt great to fight together. But what if you're really not as good as I think you are? I don't want another... another..."

"You don't want another Lena."

Kara shook her head gently, realizing what she had just admitted out loud. Feeling surprised at how honest she had felt admitting that sometimes she felt exhausted in her friendship with Lena. "No."

"Damn, I can't help feeling a little insulted. Kara, do you really think I could end up being like Lena? Because the only way I could ever betray you would be, literally, trying to seduce your sister or your mother."

"Kate, please, don't seduce any member of my family."

"Fair. Besides, would Lena wear a batsuit to fight crime?"

"No, but she wanted to help people too. Before."

"When? When she started selling the alien detectors? Because that was a week after you met her. I'm rich too, let me tell you she didn't have to."

Kara swallowed and looked away. "I don't want to talk about Lena anymore. Not with you."

The hallucination leaned back, removing her mask to show Kara her face. "Me neither," she said with a shrug. "Do you want to talk to me about Krypton?"

Kara looked at her again, feeling as if at any moment she could lose consciousness. "Yeah, I'd like that better."

* * *

"Wake up!"

Kara opened her eyes, startled to hear a male voice screaming in her face. Her eyes couldn't focus well, but she could still recognize (William's?) worried face a few inches above her. "William?"

"No, Doomsday."

"What?"

"Ok, I'm sorry. I know it was a bad joke," said William sighing. "I was never good at tragicomedy."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It doesn't matter," he shook his head. "The only thing that matters is that you. can't. sleep. Resist a little longer. If you fall asleep now you'll never wake up."

"It feels like I don't deserve to wake up," muttered Kara. "I'm an hypocrite. My job is to tell the truth and my life is a lie. Everything Lena has done is my fault."

"No bad decision people around you make is your fault."

"Don't be offended, fake William, but you don't know me enough to say that for sure. You don't know me at all. I don't even know why I'm seeing you," said Kara snorting angrily. Then a fleeting idea crossed her mind, and she looked up to stare at William. The color of his shirt had changed from white to blue. "My name is Kara Zor-El. I was born on a planet called Krypton 53 years ago. I was asleep in my pod for 24 years until I arrived to Earth. I'm Supergirl."

William smiled slightly. "Thank you."

Kara just pressed her lips together.

"Thank you for everything you've done for Earth. For fighting for us. For helping us in all you can," he replied bowing forward. "You're a good person, Kara. You don't deserve bad things. But your friend didn't need a superhero, she needed a therapist. You can't keep blaming yourself for what Lena's doing. Your intention was always to help people be better, not worse."

"Oh Rao, it's worse than I thought," Kara said feeling grief and shame growing in her chest. "You're showing me what I wanted to happen. I wanted this to not be my fault. I wanted her- I wanted someone to thank me. I am more selfish than I thought. But I don't deserve it, I've never done it. I have failed." Kara's voice broke. "What's the point of being Supergirl if I hurt people so much to the point of breaking them?"

"Did Russell deserve to be kidnapped and hurt?"

Kara pursed her lips. "No."

"Why do you?"

"Russell was a victim. I'm not, I caused this."

"Russell was killed by someone who didn't care about hurting people. Someone who felt morally and intellectually superior. Someone like Lena. Only that Leviathan doesn't blame others for their actions," said the hallucination in his characteristic gentle voice, almost the same as the real William's. "I think you want to see William Dey because, like you, he's an investigator. He plunges into a nest of lies and seeks a truth."

"I'd prefer Nia, she's my friend."

"And that's why she would try to protect your feelings instead of telling you the hard truth," he said firmly. "Do you remember how it was to be friends with Lena at the beginning? You felt very good. She was very smart, you liked talking to her... As long as you didn't think about the red flags."

"Stop."

"The alien detector, just a week after meeting her."

"She made a mistake, and fixed it making image inductors later."

"Only to sell them to aliens. And only because your friend Querl, whom I don't know but you do, allowed her to use his technology. She is, after all, a business woman."

"That wasn't what happened."

"Do you remember how she said she always felt cold inside, until she remembered that woman, Beth, dying in prison? How did she describe it later? That then she felt warm only for a moment."

"That woman had just killed Jack. Lena was upset."

"When you were worried that the country was descending to anarchy she only cared about the stock market."

"That's not- You're making it sound worse than it was."

"She said the only reason she wasn't a murderer was her friends."

"She didn't mean it like that. Her family-"

"She genuinely admitted that she thought humans should have access to Super Powers like aliens. She's not a fool. She knew about Leslie, Siobhan, Psi..."

"It was her fear speaking for her. She's an human. I couldn't judge her. The Children of Liberty were the real threat."

"She tried to kill Morgan Edge when she could have tried to send him to prison. She's smart, could have gotten evidence. Ask for your help."

"But she didn't kill him. And she was broken, she thought she had poisoned children. She wanted to help them."

"If she really wanted to help them, she'd have used her brilliant brain to cure them. She didn't do it for the children, she did it for herself."

"Enough, William. Lena's not- She wasn't like that before."

"What about the Kryptonite?"

Kara clenched her fists. "I've already forgiven her for that."

"Well, she doesn't remember it. Because she just attacked you with the only thing that can make you feel pain. And she has done it without hesitation." William rubbed his hands. "What did she tell you the first time she invited you to sit down in her office?"

Kara wished she still had more tears to cry, but her face remained dry. "Some people are just bad," she said out loud, but William was no longer there to listen. "And there is nothing you can do to change it. Just learn to protect yourself."

* * *

Kara spent the next ten minutes waiting for someone else to appear, hugging her legs in silence and trying not to think about Lena's voice telling her over and over again that everything was her _DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE DONE DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE DONE DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'VE DONE_ fault.

"Kara."

She was not surprised when an additional voice caught her attention. However, when she recognized her, she needed a couple of seconds to believe that she was really hallucinating with her.

"Maggie?"

The little detective shrugged, with a faint awkward smile on her lips. "Hello, Little Danvers." She looked exactly the same as the last time Kara had seen her, long hair, a white shirt and blue jeans, with the police badge hunging from her neck. "Nice haircut."

Kara relaxed her posture and her gaze softened. "You look exactly the same."

"You look like David Bowie in Labyrinth."

"Fuck you," said Kara smiling a little. "The real Maggie would never have said that. We could never be that close."

"Do you think that's why you want to see me?" asked the hallucination sitting in front of her. "Because you never could say goodbye?"

Kara was going to answer before another voice did it first. "I don't think it matters," said Astra, back in her place on the other side of the wall. Kara felt a mixture of tiredness and relief. "It's not as if you had really been important," said staring at her with the same somber look she always had the days before she was sent to Fort Rozz. "Kara doesn't blame you. But you and I know she prefers Kelly."

"Hey," said Maggie's hallucination frowning at the other woman.

"What? It's the truth. You could never have given Alex stability."

"Do you think I don't know that?" she responded defensively. Then she ignored the general and looked back at Kara. "But what's what you think I am, Kara? An hallucination of a faithful copy of Maggie or just what you want to hear?"

Kara took a deep breath, feeling the hunger shaking wildly in her stomach. "I guess we have no way of knowing, right? And if we can't be sure, then it doesn't matter."

"I guess not, that's right," said Maggie smiling, and her dimples appeared on her cheeks. "I also wanted to say goodbye, Supergirl. But I didn't know how. And you knew it. Because... even if it ended, having Alex and you in my life made me a better person. You helped me to heal. I owe you and Alex everything. And I... I regret not having been good enough for her."

"And I'm sorry I was jealous of you," whispered Kara. "It had always been Alex and I. I didn't know- I didn't know how to share her."

"But now you know."

"Yes," she nodded. "Now I'm a little better at sharing my sister."

"I think Kelly makes her very happy," she replied with bright eyes. "And that's the most important thing. The only thing that matters. Alex Danvers has to be happy."

Kara laughed softly. "That does sound like something Maggie would have said," she sighed as she rubbed her eyes. "But I know that's not the only reason you're here."

Maggie nodded solemnly. "You have to say it, Kara."

"You would have known," the blonde managed to say before a sob escaped her throat. "You would have looked Lena in the face and you would have known. Perhaps I will never know you as I would have liked to, but I know one thing about you, Maggie: you always recognize a criminal when you see them."

* * *

"Kiera?"

Kara looked up from her hands. "Good evening, Ms Grant."

"Are you ready to admit it's not your fault? Because I've been more than patient, Kiera," said Cat taking off her dark glasses. "But this is taking too much time."

"I think so, Ms Grant."

"And we both know that I know you are Supergirl, and I didn't do any cheap soap opera drama when I first knew it."

"You fired me, Cat."

"Mm, it's true. But in my defense I thought it was for the greater good. I didn't know I was hurting you."

"Apologies accepted," said Kara, smiling though she couldn't move her lips too much. "I miss you, Cat," whispered Kara sadly. "Even after so many years nothing is the same without you. It was better when you were here. It was easier to know what to do."

"I know, Kara," Cat replied with a sweet smile. "That's why you felt you needed to replace me. But you've never needed me. Need is a pretty pathetic feeling, don't you think? It makes harder to take choices." Cat put on the dark glasses again. "Love can only be born from the freedom to choose, Kiera. It's quite obvious and you should already know that."

"I think I've always known, Cat," said Kara, lying on the floor, her body suddenly too heavy. "But thanks for reminding me."

* * *

"She looked good, you know? The first time I saw her."

"Nyah," Streaky meowed on her chest.

Kara stroked its fur. "I remember thinking: she and I are alike. Both adopted. Trying to get out of someone else's shadow. She even reminded me of my old friends from Aunt Lara's history class. But I can't help but wonder if Lena really was so desperate to be different from her family, or just wanted everyone to think she was."

"Nyah Nyah."

"Because if she really wanted to do good things... she'd have done them. I mean, honestly, Streaky, I thought she was different. Good first impressions are dangerous, it's very difficult to change them later."

"Nyah."

"And I knew what it was like to be alone. I thought I could help her, like Alex helped me when I needed someone," the cat purred under her hand. "But I can't fight the truth anymore, Streaky."

The cat gently rubbed its nose against her hand.

"It wasn't my fault."

"You've accepted it. Good," said Astra beside her, standing looking at her. "Now you have to get out of here, Little One. You almost have no time left."

"It's impossible to get out of here."

"You know that's a lie," replied her aunt, but this time a huge green sword was piercing her chest. "Kara, you've spent too much time without eating. The Kryptonite is making your skin too fragile. You have to stand up."

Kara took a deep breath, realizing that Streaky had disappeared, and tried to roll to the left so she could lean against the wall and try to get up. But her legs barely responded and her arms felt made of paper.

"You have to get out of here, Little One."

"I don't know how," she lamented shaking her head. "I can't think of anything."

Astra approached slowly, the sword that pierced her chest brighter than any light. "There is something else I need to tell you," she said, bowing as if she were going to caress her. "I don't blame Alexandra."

Kara opened her eyes to see her face.

"She warned me. She tried to convince me to stop. But then the Martian appeared and I realized I couldn't stop." Astra's eyes shone with tears impossible to shed. "Your sister did what she had to do."

"I know."

"She didn't want to kill me. But she couldn't take the risk of me hurting someone else."

"I know, Aunt Astra. I forgave her a long time ago. Even if I miss you."

"Would you do the same for her?"

Kara pressed her shoulder when she felt a stab of pain. "What do you mean?"

A noise from the other side of the ice wall caught her attention. Kara bit her lip and sobbed silently. Lena and Alex were on the other side. Her sister had her face blooded and dirty clothes, her hands cuffed behind her back, and she was on her knees next to Lena, who was holding a small tablet in one hand and Myriad in the other. Alex stared at her with her chocolate eyes. "Kara..."

Kara forgot all pain and weakness and pounced against the glass wall. "Alex."

"She lied to me too," said Lena in a sad voice. "She pretended to be my friend, just like you. The two of you used me from the beginning. I was just another Luthor to watch closely."

"Kara..."

"Lena, don't hurt her," said Kara trying to get up with renewed strength. "Leave her out of this. This is between you and me."

"But she also lied to me! Just like you! She made me think she cared about me! But Alex only cares about you, doesn't she?" she asked furiously. "Fuck everyone else. She only cares about you, your feelings and your well-being. She didn't came to me to ask if I was okay. She never gave a shit about me."

"It's not true, she wanted to be your friend. We all wanted to. But we just didn't know if we could trust you."

"Then it's my fault that you treated me like you did? Kara, you treated me like if I was a monster. I'm not."

"Lena," said Kara, getting to her feet. "I've never felt safe with you." She leaned against the wall so as not to fall. "You need a therapist."

The brunette woman's look turned cold, her eyes looking at the tablet screen. "People will never hurt each other again."

Lena turned on the Myriad, the device emitting a sound so soft it could pass for a bee hum. Alex shuddered on the floor, evidently suffering the pain of the psychic wave entering into her brain.

"No. Alex." Kara ***BAM*** hit the glass. "Alex!" she exclaimed hoarsely as she hit ***BAM*** it again. "ALEX! ***BAM*** ALEX! ***BAM*** ALEEEEEEEX! ***BAM* *BAM* *BAM*** "

Astra did not move from her place. "You have to get out of here."

"Tell me how!" Kara yelled at the image of her aunt. "I'll do anything! Tell me how to get out! But I can't lose her!" screamed Kara. "Not like this! I can't let her hurt her. You have to tell me how to get out!"

"You know this Fortress better than anyone, Kara. It's a sanctuary that exists to protect the blood of Erok-El, the first Bethgar. You're the only one who knows how it works."

Alex stopped moving.

"You know its only porpuse is to protect the blood of the House of El. In this place you will always, always have the advantage."

"Blood." Kara stared at her hands. Her skin was too pale, almost so white that she could see the the Kryptonite in her veins. "The Fortress... protects..." she looked with desperate eyes around her, looking for something, anything sharp. When she realized that there was nothing around her, she began to search inside the pockets of her suit. She found old papers, a couple of ice cream coupons, an old pen with a recorder on the tip, and her glasses.

"Thank you, Brainy," said Kara throwing the glasses to the ground with all the strength she had left, hurrying to step on them until the frame and glass broke up. "Resist, Alex. Resist. I won't let her hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you." Kara took advantage of the adrenaline in her veins to ignore the pain she felt while bending down to pick up a piece of broken glass. "C'mon..." she murmured softly, pressing the small glass against the palm of her hand with enough force, or despair, to pierce the skin. A small thread of red blood sprouted from the wound, but when the rest of her body had only felt agony for the last six hours, Kara barely noticed it. The Kryptonian gasped hard and extended her trembling hand, letting her blood drip onto the frozen floor of the Fortress.

Kara heard the sound of the drop falling on the floor before the lights turned red instead of blue.

_'ALERT. ALERT. ALERT. ALERT. ALERT.'_

Kelex appeared on the other side of the glass wall, and Kara knew it was the real one because she had always hated the robot, and the last few hours had taught her that her hallucinations were extremely selective. Without losing a second, Kelex shattered the glass wall with a single blow of its huge metal fist. The noise was a torture for Kara's exhausted starving brain. Unable to stand, Kara almost fell forward, but the robot caught her in its arms and lifted her as if she weighed nothing. _'Scanning damage on Kara Zor-El,'_ said Kelex analyzing her body. _‘Analysis completed. 86% of critical physical damage. Kara Zor-El needs to enter the regeneration matrix immediately or the risk of death is high.’_

"Take me to the matrix, but hurry up," said Kara, thinking about her sister in the last moments before losing consciousness. "Because I'm running out of time." _Alex Alex Alex Alex Alex_. "And I have to stop Lena."

**Author's Note:**

> Bethgars= old Kryptonian kings  
> Karanizu= How Kara's parents called her in the comics


End file.
